Taxes, Taxes, Taxes
To the Editor: The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors (BOS) has been wrestling with the question of how to meet their self-imposed demands for more services and how to raise revenue (read "taxes") to support those demands. The first source is the real estate tax - the tax on our homes and businesses. The real estate tax is a function of the value of our property and a function of the rate of tax to be imposed based on the value of our property. Suffice to say, this is a game that is played each year - whatever you call it, about 15.5 percent more will have come out of our pockets over the past three years.
Reston Little League Presents Leadership Awards
Sean Dooley, director at The Wise Investor Group at RW Baird in Reston, presented Leadership Awards to deserving players who are entering their final season of baseball in Reston Little League, as well as RLL alumni who have chosen to continue teaching the game as youth umpires. During ceremonies held in conjunction with the annual Little League Parade at Reston Town Center, each awardee was honored with an award certificate that cited their “sportsmanship during past seasons, their potential for continued leadership development as they graduate on to new teams and schools, and their love of the game.” In addition, each awardee received a Scholarship Award for Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) leadership training. Players have as many as 15 seasons of experience playing baseball in Reston Little League, starting at age 4. Awardees are: Jack Thompson (Athletics), Aiden O’Donovan (Phillies), Josh Meade (Yankees), Sully Gholson (Nationals), Vikrant Magadi (Rays), Shea Huntington (Pirates), Nick Gryski (Red Sox), Braden Huebsch (Mets), Owen Walker (Umpire), and Kyle Sather (Umpire).
Exciting Week at Lake Anne Elementary
Lake Anne Elementary had an exciting week as several employees from the Smithsonian Zoo Migratory Bird Center came to the school to work with first and second graders. The ladies captured birds, held them, tagged them (while students watched) and then released them back into the wild. In addition, the students were taken down a trial and shown how to lift logs and leaves to locate possible food that the birds might eat off of (worms, snails, etc.).
Cycling for Change
More than 150 attend Ride to Provide in Reston Town Center.
More than 150 people gave up their Saturday morning last week to cycle for a cause. The fifth annual Ride To Provide, an event to raise money for youth programs and healing military veterans, drew in cyclists throughout the greater D.C. metro area thanks to the balmy weather and a chance to ride with Washington Redskins football players.
Southwestern Virginia
Commentary
For many years Jane and I have used our spring break to visit locations throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. This year was no exception as we went to the southwestern region of the state. Although we drove about 225 miles to Roanoke from Reston, we were not yet in what the locals call Southwest Virginia. In fact, only by driving another 134 miles down I81 to Abingdon did we get to what many consider the doorstep to Southwest Virginia. It would have been possible to drive another 111 miles west with a short swing into Tennessee to get to the western-most point in Virginia at Cumberland Gap. That point is further west than Detroit. Regardless of how far you travel, the natural beauty of the mountains and streams in this part of the state are unequaled, and the local people are wonderful to meet.
Area Students Win Scholarships
MLK Cultural Foundation Dream Makers Gala raises money for students.
Fifteen northern Virginia students received scholarships to follow their dreams last week. The Martin Luther King Cultural Foundation Dream Makers Award Gala drew in hundreds of people to raise money and hand out college scholarships on Thursday. “It’s something like this that will make me go to work tomorrow and want to make the world a better place for our children,” said Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam during a speech.
Where Am I?
"I’m sitting in the rocking chair, good buddy," (a "Smokey and The Bandit" reference, if you’re not of a certain vintage), between two 18-wheelers where the police radar can’t find me – further referencing the C.B. radio days. Updating to the "Kenny-with-cancer" days, I’m a month or so past my last very encouraging CT Scan, the one I wrote about when my oncologist offered me a congratulatory handshake, a gesture he had not made in the five-plus years since we’ve been tangling with this damn disease; and I’m approximately seven weeks away from my next CT scan, "intervaled" every three months at present. Seven weeks is far enough away where I’m not even thinking about it, or the possibility of its discouraging results that I’ll know about on or about June 9th. I am cruising, emotionally, and savoring the excellent results from the last scan and not yet worrying, wondering, hoping, praying (too much) about my next scan. This means, at the moment – or moments, I should say, I am enjoying a relatively stress-free and blissful ignorance to what may – or hopefully may not, be happening in my lungs. I am, to quote a Three Stooges line: "as safe as in my mother’s arms."
Entrants Sought for Anti-Alcohol Awards
A Vienna-based, alcohol-education group wants to honor local, high school groups for their efforts in fighting underage drinking. To recognize high-school students for "doing the right thing," the nonprofit Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP) will present its 2014 GEICO Student Awards at a May 16 ceremony in Washington, D.C., and is accepting applications for the honors through Monday, April 28, at http://www.wrap.org/files/youthOutreach.htm. Entry is free.
Editorial: Past Time for Later Start Times
Teenagers are sleep deprived, and sleep deprivation takes a significant toll on safety, health and learning. We’ve known this for decades. But for decades, literally, Fairfax County Public Schools (and Montgomery County, Md.) have let a combination of reactionary blabber ("buck up and get moving;" "just tell them to go to bed earlier") and organizational resistance prevent implementing a solution to this very real problem. Getting up at 5:30 or 6 a.m. to hop on a school bus at 5:45 a.m. or even as late at 6:30 a.m. to get to school by 7:20 a.m. is not healthy for teenagers. It is nearly impossible for teenagers to go to sleep before 11 p.m. or midnight. Fairfax County high school students average six hours of sleep a night on weeknights. Research shows they need nine hours of sleep. Research has also quantified the costs of sleep deprivation.
Classified Advertising April 23, 2014
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Classified Advertising April 16, 2014
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Reston Home Sales: March, 2014
In March 2014, 80 Reston homes sold between $1,065,000-$195,000.
Reston Home Sales: March, 2014
Tax Burden Targets Low-Income Workers in Northern Virginia
Average tax burden for low-income workers is highest in Arlington, Alexandria and Fairfax.
Families that are struggling to make ends meet in Northern Virginia are the target of local governments in Northern Virginia, which has the highest tax burden in the region for low-income workers. Wealthy people face the highest tax burden in Prince George's County and Montgomery County. But here in Virginia, poor people face the biggest tax burden in Arlington, according to a new study by the Office of Revenue Analysis in the District of Columbia. Alexandria ranked second, and Fairfax County ranked third.
SOL Night at Lake Anne
Lake Anne hosted their annual SOL night on March 26 for students. The teachers and staff members were on hand all over the building with games, problems, and many other activities for the students to work on. The students worked both with the teachers, as a group, and individually on their own on all SOL related topics as a means to boost them academically for the taking of the SOLs coming up soon. Pictured here is fifth grade teacher Mr. Garcia showing Tristan and Lucas how to work through a science problem.
Walking for a Cause
Reston’s 4th annual Kidney Walk a success.
More than 300 people banded together to support the fight against kidney disease on Sunday. The National Kidney Foundation’s fourth annual Reston Kidney Walk in the town center garnered about $83,000 from pre-registered walkers alone. “This is more of a family-driven event,” said NKF Development Manager Jessica Shatzel. “Our gala is a corporate driven event. A lot of our teams are families that return year after year.” Jessica Blevins, Gainsville, and her family came out to support the NKF walk with a “Team Logan” banner.
CATS Puts Special Needs Kids First
Children’s Adaptive Team Sports reinforces and praises with soccer and trophies.
Children with special needs can sometimes feel like they are not a part of a community. CATS - which stands for Children’s Adaptive Team Sports - helps these kids feel like real winners by putting them on their own basketball and soccer teams. “We’ve had some parents who were emotional and said they thought they’d never see their son play on a soccer team,” said founder and CEO Margarita Benavides. “Eighty percent of parents said there were improvements on motor skills or attention.”
Baron Cameron Update Discussed
Reston 2020, residents debate county plans for local park.
The Reston Citizens Association met with concerned residents to address possible changes to Baron Cameron Park last week. The changes, which are a scheduled update of the park, were discussed and debated at the April 7 meeting at Buzz Aldrin Elementary School. “What we want you to do is think about what’s missing, what’s not there,” said Reston 2020 co-chairman Terry Maynard. He explained some of the changes - adding a picnic pavilion, restrooms, a larger trail network and additional parking - among other additions. Fairfax County also included alternative plans that included an indoor recreational center.
Reston’s Best Honored
23rd annual Best of Reston celebrates birthdays and service.
Reston is a place where - as they say - people can live, play, work and serve. The Best of Reston honored those committed to community service and celebrated founder Robert Simon’s 100th birthday on Thursday with a black-tie affair at the Hyatt Regency in Reston Town Center. The 23rd annual event, hosted by Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce and Cornerstones, reeled in nearly 900 attendees. “This community takes pride in the people who serve,” said GRCC President Mark S. Ingrao. “We’ve been thinking so much about that in the last few weeks with all the celebrations going on here. I don’t know if it’s the water in Lake Anne or the secret ingredient in Bob’s lunchtime beverage, but there’s something about the community that says, ‘You are welcome here.’”
The Honey Bunch
Sweet Virginia partners with GMU to educate students about bees.
Educational outreach is sweet nectar for Sweet Virginia. Executive Director Dan Price is using college students to promote honeybee sustainability to college students in the changing world. “I thought someone needed to get the population of bees in Washington, D.C. back to what it used to be,” said Price. “I made that my mission.” Price has put bees in the forefront of minds in D.C. by installing two hives on top of the National Geographic Museum.
World of Beer offers IT platform for business lunches
If you are looking for a unique location to hold a sales meeting that’s not far from your Arlington, Alexandria, or Ballston office, think World of Beer. The tavern that’s best known for after-work socializing and live music on weekends, is now offering meeting space and teleconference so companies can conduct online training or other web-based events for its employees. "We are a great place for off-site meetings," said Evan Matz, owner of World of Beer at 901 North Glebe Road in Ballston. "With little notice, CEOs and managers can reserve a separate room equipped with our IP-based video and wall monitor systems. It’s a perfect place to hold working lunches."